Purpose: To study the results of arthroscopic repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears
using a side-to-side suture technique without fixation to bone. Type of Study: Case series study of the long-term results of patients who underwent purely arthroscopic
rotator cuff repair with a side-to-side suturing technique. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent arthroscopic repair
of full-thickness rotator cuff defects. Patients with full-thickness rotator cuff
tears repaired in a side-to-side fashion without anchoring the repair to bone were
selected. Patients were evaluated using a modified UCLA shoulder scoring system. The
data collected were analyzed to determine the outcome in patients with a 4- to 10-year
follow-up. Results: A total of 105 arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs were performed in 104 patients between
February 1990 and February 1996. Forty-two patients had a full-thickness tear of the
rotator cuff that was repaired using a purely side-to-side suturing technique. The
mean UCLA score of all patients in this group was 33; 23 patients reported excellent
results, 18 good results, and 1 poor result according to the UCLA scoring system.
Conclusions: In this series, 98% of patients qualified as a good to excellent result according
to the UCLA shoulder score. This study shows that patients with a full-thickness defect
of the rotator cuff tendon with anatomy amenable to side-to-side closure may be effectively
treated with a purely arthroscopic repair using only a side-to-side suturing technique
with excellent long-term clinical results. Level of Evidence: Level IV.
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© 2005 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
